In the leafy Hampshire countryside, more than 30,000 members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community have gathered for the 50th anniversary of the Jalsa Salana.

An annual convention attracting visitors from more than 100 countries, united in their creed, the Jalsa Salana is a religious festival celebrating the Ahmadis’ peaceful reading of Islam.

Over three days, the community takes the opportunity to meet fellow believers that have come from around the world.

They eat together, pray together and hear speeches from community leaders. Pop-up exhibitions are also set up at the 200-acre site on Oaklands Farm near Alton.

Ahmadis are an international sect of Muslims that believe in reviving what they believe to be the “true” version of Islam – one centred on peace, tolerance, and integration.

Founded in 1889 in what was then British India, they have lived a life of persecution, particularly in Asia and across the Middle East.

Discrimination against the people stems from their belief that their founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was the promised Messiah after Muhammad – a claim that is rejected by other sects of Islam, many of whom who go so far as to declare Ahmadis non-Muslim.

Much of the culture of persecution against Ahmadis has stemmed from Pakistan, where the community has been officially outlawed.

To be issued a passport in Pakistan one must sign a document stating that Ahmadis are not Muslim.

Ordnance XX, legislation passed in 1984, states: “Any person of the Qadiani group who directly or indirectly, poses himself as a Muslim… shall be punished with impris… continue reading at Meeting the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community